Invitation to Tender for the Management of Catering Services at Grestone Academy

Grestone Academy has decided to tender their catering services to investigate the financial and qualitative benefits they could be offered through this process. Grestone Academy is part of the Hamstead Hall Academy Trust.

Grestone Academy wish to be at the forefront of school catering and as such require a modern, branded offer that reflects the leading trends in the industry.

At this time, the Trust's wish is to commence a catering contract, with a partner who shares their vision for a customer-focused service that attracts the maximum number of students. The meals that are to be provided must be appealing to customers, imaginative, provide good value for money and be nutritionally balanced to encourage all students to make an educated choice.

The Trust's objectives for the new contract are as follows: -

• A catering service that is well managed and requires minimal involvement from the Trust's management team.
• A strong Contractor Area Manager who will develop and lead the team to deliver exceptional customer service, a consistently high-quality food offer and spend a substantial amount of time on site at the outset to undertake this.
• A Contractor who is proactive in their relationship management with the Trust, with good communication with the school.
• A Contractor with a clean line of communication and escalations for the Trust to deal with any issues efficiently and effectively.
• Investment in the Trust's Catering service through increased marketing, equipment to enhance the services and educational events in return for a tenure of contract.
• Develop a partnership with a Contractor with a strong ethical policy, who will not only educate pupils on recycling, the environment, reducing their carbon footprint but also facilitate this and lead by example.
• Encourage the pupils and service to reduce plastics, increase recycling, reduce delivery miles and food waste.
• To find a Contractor who can work with the Trust to help those in the community who may be struggling to buy food for their families.
• A higher number of students and staff using the facilities by providing a high quality, affordable and nutritious meal.
• A catering service that encourages students to take a heathy and balanced meal on a regular basis but also gives them the opportunity to try new foods that they may not have tried before.
• Food and drinks that look appetising and are attractively presented.
• A hospitality service that will help showcase the Trust through events to parents and visitors.
• A Contractor that adopts a flexible and proactive approach to all Trust activities.
• A service that is professionally merchandised and marketed with discretion and to the mutual benefit of the Trust and the Contractor across both primary and secondary settings.
• A Contractor that operates using the optimum level of staffing and management structure to support the Contract and the Trust and provides a strong level of support to the site team including weekly site visits to support the site manager and team.
• A Contractor with strong communication skills and marketing programme to advertise to Parents and Pupils alike and to drive the uptake of meals and special events such as theme days and census days.